How to Work From Home With Kids

Working from home with kids can be a challenge. Right now, this is the new normal for a lot of people.

If your job has become remote, or you’ve been wanting to start working from home but now kids are out of school, you need to find ways to make the best of your situation.

Contrary to what some might believe, you can still get work done and be productive with kids around. (This doesn’t involve ignoring your kids for the whole day either. )

Here’s how to work from home with kids. (And without losing your mind!)

Get Up Early

If you want to have success working from home with kids it’s best to get an early start. If you wake up at the same time as your children, you’ll be missing out on valuable work hours.

If you are generally more productive in the morning, you need every possible hour to ensure you make some progress on your work.

Use your early morning time block to take care of tasks you’d prefer to do uninterrupted.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to get up early but I find that going to bed a little earlier and utilizing coffee does help.

Make Sure Everyone is on a Schedule 

It’s important to get on a schedule and map out your day when you’re working from home. That said, your kids should have a schedule and routine that they stick to as well.

With my son, I outline what time he should wake up and what activities he’ll do for the day. The e-learning resources from his school and educational sites I found have been super helpful when it comes to keeping him busy.

Plan intentional breaks in your schedule so kids can have time for creative play, movies, crafts, puzzles, etc.

Batch Tasks 

Batching tasks is one of my favorite productivity hacks and it’s great to do if you’re working from home with kids. Look at how much time you have on a given day, then use what’s on your schedule to break your work up in batches.

For example, I like to wake up 2-3 hours before my son gets up. I use this time to batch together tasks like writing articles for clients and checking email. During the morning when he is doing e-learning, I focus on another batch of tasks and so on.

Batch tasks for kids just like you’re batching up your work tasks for the day. This is why I assign tasks like: wake up, eat breakfast, get ready for the day, read a few bible stories (1 hour).

Another batch of tasks I assign includes: silent reading for 30 minutes, writing and studying spelling words, 15 minutes of typing practice and 15 minutes of Spanish lessons online (about 1 hour and 15 minutes).

Prep Snacks and Meals 

I know parents all over are being asked for snacks non-stop right around now. One thing you can do is start preparing snacks for the day in advance and prepping meals.

That way the kids meals will be good to go and can just grab a snack from the counter or from the day’s snack basket.

You can also pre-cook lunches and batch cook dinner so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with loved ones when work is done for the day.

Make the Most Out of Nap Time 

Capitalize on the time that when your kids lay down for a nap. You’re guaranteed at least an hour if not two to really dig in and get your work checked off for the day.

If all you do is work during the 2-hour nap time window and for 3 hours before your kids get up in the morning, you’ll score 5 solid hours of work per day or 25 hours per week.

Related: Is it possible to work at home with a baby?

Have a Designated Workspace 

If you can manage it, having a designated workspace can make a big difference. Avoid setting up for work in high-traffic area like the living room couch.

You also don’t want to be sitting by the television either. You don’t have to have a designated office, but try to set up in a quiet place that motivates you to be productive.

Yes, You CAN Work from Home with Kids.

Working from home can be great, but having your children there while you do it can create plenty of obstacles. If you’re at a stage where you have to work at home with kids, keep these tips and strategies in mind.

Get everyone in the house on a schedule, and learn your productivity patterns.

Have you ever had to work from home with kids before? How did you manage to pull it off?